Meet our faculty & sessional instructors

Jeffrey joined the Communications department at UFV in 2018. Raised on Vancouver’s North Shore, Jeffrey has lived, taught, and studied in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Canada, so his research interest in borders and intercultural exchange is both an academic passion and a fact of life. He’s been teaching at the University level since 2004.

Jeffrey’s intellectual interests are visual and digital culture, especially related to rhetoric and persuasion. His classroom approach is always focused on building applied skills in the world outside academia– for work, advocacy, creativity or engagement. His Ph.D research focused on the use of photographs and maps in novels and life stories as a way of engaging readers’ imaginations. His more recent research has considered modes of engagement for television and online audiences, especially building the emotional connections of national identity.

• Doctor of Philosophy; English / Rhetoric (University of Leeds, 2006)
• Master of Arts (Thesis), Modern Languages (Queen’s University Belfast, 2001)
• Bachelor of Arts, Political Science / English (University of British Columbia, 1997)

• International Association for Media and Communication Research
• Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English
• UFV Library Advisory Committee
• Communications Marketing Committee

As a teacher and a student, I value local, contextual, and relevant applications of ideas. I think theory grows from experience and self-reflection, so I try to incorporate both of those into my teaching. I try to emphasize well rounded learning – developing information and ideas, but also a sense of self, relationships, society, and connections. My teaching style is conversationally engaged and exploratory – we’re all involved in the adventure of learning together.

• Culture and the Canada/US Border
• Digital Micro-Rhetoric
• Visual Narrative and Rhetoric